§ MR. THOMAS O'DONNELL (Kerry, W.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he will give the names of the Irish Harbour Boards whose expenses fall, either partly or wholly, on the local rates, the actual amount borne in each case by the local rates, the valuation on which the cost falls, rate per pound paid, the total number of members on each Board, the number representing the ratepayers, and the manner in which the ratepayers' representatives are selected.
(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) With the exception of those cases in which the Board of Works are themselves the harbour authorities, the harbour authorities in Ireland are bodies constituted by Statute or Provisional Order prescribing the manner of their selection, and are not under the control of any public department in Ireland. I have no information as to the expenses of harbour boards which fall on the local rates beyond that which the hon. Member will find in the Local Taxation (Ireland) Returns annually laid upon the Table of the House. I am, however, informed by the Board of Works that, in the case of five harbours, loans which have been 270 made by the Board, are secured on local rates in addition to the security of the harbour revenue; and the loan charges either actually or potentially involve a charge on the rates. The amount borne by the local rates in each of these cases during the last year was as follows:—
| £ | s. | d. | |
| Tralee and Fenit; Pier and Harbour | 4,797 | 10 | 0 |
| Arklow Harbour | 1,141 | 14 | 2 |
| Wicklow Harbour | 2,773 | 6 | 8 |
| Galway Harbour | Nil. | ||
| Kinsale Harbour | 276 | 11 | 9 |
§ In addition, a loan for Ardglass Harbour, of which the Board of Works are the harbour authorities, is repaid in part by the Down County Council, and £234 6s. 4d.was paid by the body last year. A reference to the several Statutes and Orders constituting harbour authorities in Ireland will be found in House of Commons' Paper, 325, of 1903.